When it was decided that welterweights would be the focus of “The Ultimate Fighter 13,” Nick Newell was out of luck.

The UFC was ready to give him a shot but with the stipulation that he might not get another at his natural lightweight class.

So Newell, who was born with just one full arm, went home and picked up four more wins.

When bantamweights and featherweights then became the focus of “The Ultimate Fighter 14,” Newell was invited back and passed all his audition hurdles. He literally was about to fly to Las Vegas to begin competing on the show before producers decided to move a different direction.

Newell, though, kept moving the same direction: forward.

“I’m just a very motivated person,” Newell told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “If you’re going to do something, you don’t do it half-ass. Of course, you don’t always reach your goals, but if you give it everything you’ve got, you’re going to go a lot further than if you don’t.”

He’s aligned himself with top camps such as American Top Team and AMA Fight Club, and he’s held his own.

He’s also managed to best every challenge that’s been put in front of him with a physical disability (congenital amputation) that most would consider an insurmountable obstacle to greatness in MMA.

Instead, Newell has turned it into an advantage, submitting five of his seven opponents.

“Obviously, that’s the goal, to stay undefeated forever,” Newell said. “But if I put any pressure on myself, I’m just going to hamper my performance. I always remind myself this is something I do for fun, but I have a never-say-die attitude.”

On Friday Newell (7-0) meets David Mays (6-3) at the Gray Cole Center in Charlotte, N.C., for XFC 19, which airs live on AXS TV. Naturally, he thinks it’s a good matchup and doesn’t give much credence to Mays’ wrestling background.

“I just feel everywhere the fight goes, I’m going to be one step ahead,” he said.

He enjoys fighting for the XFC, save for layover-heavy flights to his bookings, and he believes he’s close to a title shot with the promotion. With the UFC, he’s not sure where he stands.

So far, that call hasn’t come. He looks at the fighters inside the octagon as his equals, and he wants a chance to prove that. He’ll keep fighting until that happens.

“There’s obviously a lot of politics involved with getting there, but I’m just going to keep on winning until they don’t have a choice any more,” Newell said. “Hopefully, I’m in pretty good standing. You never know.”

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